Heineken to bring more premium brands into South Africa

MIDVAAL, South Africa (Reuters) - Heineken plans to bring more of its premium brands into South Africa following its recent introduction of Sol Mexican lager which it hopes will increase its market share. Following 11 years of cooperation, Heineken dissolved its joint venture with Diageo in July 2015 so that the Dutch brewer could pursue its own growth strategies in South Africa and Namibia. "We have a large international portfolio of brands within Heineken that we can choose from so we'll be looking at other brands to bring into the market and grow our portfolio. We're not here to maintain market share," Heineken SA Finance Director Eric van Lokven told Reuters. Heineken, the world's third-largest brewer, brought Sol to South Africa this month, said van Lokven. Global market leader Anheuser-Busch InBev's imminent takeover of number two SABMiller "will not change the competitive landscape in South Africa significantly", said van Lokven. Heineken, the producer of Amstel lager has a market share of 10 percent in South Africa, dwarfed by SABMiller, which was founded in Johannesburg and which has around 89 percent of the market. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)